Imperial moth
Eacles imperialis (Drury, 1773)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae
Identification: Females are larger than males. Upperside is yellow with pinkish brown to purple-brown patches, bands, and cell spots, and tiny brown spots scattered overall. Males have larger patches on the forewings than females, except for some subspecies pini males which have reduced purple and are mostly yellow.
Wing Span: 3 1/8 - 6 7/8 inches (8 - 17.4 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge before sunrise and mate after midnight the next day. Females lay eggs at dusk singly or in groups of 2-5 on both surfaces of host plant leaves. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks, and the caterpillars are solitary feeders. Pupation takes place in underground burrows.
Flight: One brood; in the north from June-August, in the south from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Conifers and deciduous trees and shrubs including pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), box elder (Acer negundo), maples (Acer), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Confirmed feeding on Norway spruce (see record 738773). Subspecies pini feeds only on conifers.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous and evergreen forests.
Range: Maine west to eastern Nebraska, south to the Florida Keys and central Texas. Subspecies pini occurs across the northern Great Lakes basin and the northern third of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 2747 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 24, 2025
Submitted by: melbeth25
Region: Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 25, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: rmery
Region: Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 24, 2025
Observation date: Jul 22, 2025
Submitted by: Moth_Observer01
Region: Nelson County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 24, 2025
Observation date: Jul 22, 2025
Submitted by: Nancyjp
Region: Adams County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 23, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: drerbium
Region: Montgomery County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jul 20, 2025
Observation date: Jul 05, 2025
Submitted by: mrscrobinson22
Region: Fulton County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Jul 20, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: rmery
Region: Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 14, 2025
Submitted by: Ennis_delmar
Region: Sevier County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 18, 2025
Submitted by: evannus
Region: Sevier County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 18, 2025
Submitted by: BoydHamiltonJA
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 05, 2025
Submitted by: Stegreer
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 05, 2025
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 12, 2025
Observation date: Jul 08, 2025
Submitted by: TNKSC
Region: Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 11, 2025
Observation date: Jul 04, 2025
Submitted by: NiightFiend
Region: Branch County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 05, 2025
Observation date: Jul 04, 2025
Submitted by: the Katt...
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 04, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2023
Submitted by: Cynthia Weber
Region: Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 02, 2025
Observation date: Jun 17, 2025
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: BarbSendelbach
Verified date: Jun 17, 2025
Observation date: May 28, 2025
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Costa Rica
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: May 28, 2025
Observation date: Aug 13, 2023
Submitted by: mystromenendez
Region: Carroll County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Mar 18, 2025
Observation date: Dec 04, 2024
Submitted by: MorganLombardo
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 05, 2024
Observation date: Nov 10, 2024
Submitted by: gpro111
Region: Citrus County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 10, 2024
Observation date: Oct 07, 2024
Submitted by: katherinethegreat1
Region: Highlands County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 16, 2024
Observation date: Jul 08, 2024
Submitted by: bknupp
Region: Rockingham County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 12, 2024
Observation date: Sep 25, 2024
Submitted by: Charlie Doggett (Judith Labelle)
Region: Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Sep 28, 2024
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